Comments By Blair

Week 3 begins!

A new class started Monday with 6 learners. Our class remains at 2, with 2 more held over from the previous week of testing. Each day begins with a pre-trip, which I have fairly complete. A few tweaks of language have occurred and I need to nail them down. I have learned everything on the pre-trip has a blend of acronyms: Properly Mounted and Secured (PMS); Cracked, Damaged, Leaking (CDL); Abrasions, Bulges, or Cuts (ABC.) Pointing out each component and verbally confirming the number of parts -- 6 for brakes, 4 suspension, 7 drive suspension, 11 in-cab, helps me retain both muscle and oral memory.

Monday and Tuesday have been split between pre-trip and backing practice. Monday was straight backing, Tuesday offset, tonight is parallel. Thursday and Friday we will be out on the street! In Brett's book he accurately describes the circus of first-day backing. With only 3 of us on range, I still expected a Mini-Cooper full of midgets to come pouring out. Rather than working off feel, we are doing analysis and working our initial backing from notes. I am still tight on the "key cone" during set up, but feel confident this will all work out with practice. I can't imagine the chaos of day academy and their 12 students.

Have a great week everyone!

-Blair

Good Morning Everyone!

Our class of 4 shrank by 50% this week, on the same day no less! One that dropped struggled with expectations the entire time, and became overwhelmed by additional knowledge and skill required. The other plans to join the next cycle of classes near the end of 2019. Our instructors explained upcoming changes in CDL testing for future classes. More range/road practice will accompany straight back, offset, parallel, alley dock, and one other parking style (maybe?) with any random 3 drawn by the examiner.

With a class of 2 students and 4 evening instructors, our drive time has become a 1-on-1, 4 week skills course from this point forward. We have been drilling pre-trip Thursday and Friday, and I am seeing progress. Association is a technique with good results, thus my classmate and I are working with numbers. 4 things on approach, 4 on passenger side, 8+1 driver's side, 4 suspension, 6 brake, 3 tire, 4 rim, etc. down the truck. Last night was our first opportunity behind the wheel and I had a great experience! Creeping around the closed course at 3 mph, learning positioning, reference points, and smooth accelerator/brake application was awesome! Our week 2 closer was early instruction in straight backing. The instructor said since we have significant skill time, they will try to teach more about setups and how to correct when a maneuver goes haywire, enhancing our skills. What good is a skill if you don't know how to "right the ship?" Entering the academy with no expectations, I am thrilled by the pace, knowledge, and candor of staff. Have a great weekend everyone!

-Blair

Greetings TT! Hump day of week 2 is upon our evening academy! All 4 students continue to show up, which is a good sign. Everyone has permits and our class completed the last drug screening yesterday. We have watched a few additional videos about safety, road rage, and using commentary driving. An open book test covered shifting and throttle control, route planning, and fatigue. Route planning is an element of logistics I have always enjoyed, and will continue to develop this aspect of my skills as long I drive. Our instructor is teaching us paper logs and how the 14/11/10 HOS rules are structured. We haven't gone in depth yet, but that is supposedly next week. Again, this will be a constant vigil to improve my performance.

My goals for training remain simple. 1.) Be on time. 2.) Be an engaged learner 3.) Understand there is more to CDL than just driving. The plan in weeks 3-6 will be rotating days of closed course and open road driving. I have narrowed my preferences to either dry van or flatbed. Staying physically active is important, and I enjoy the struggle to accomplish goals in poor, sometimes downright terrible, weather conditions. This may be present in any driving scenario, but might be more frequent in flatbed. Dry van is a reasonable start to my driving career where I can gain overall experience and hone my skills. Learning a wide variety of driving skills is important to me so rotating through different divisions might be worth a look. Talk again soon!

-Blair

Days 3 , 4 , 5 were a mixed bag. My other 3 classmates have earned parts of ther permit and all should be complete Monday. We have drilled permit tests, various corporate videos about safety, and health and wellness closing out Thursday. Friday we were on the range working on visual identification of pre trip components. Additional information and explanation of coupling/uncoupling finished out our evening. I am humbled at the amount of information, knowledge, and skill that is required to be a safe and capable driver. We toured a Kenworth flatbed tractor, and that was pretty sweet! I have no idea what division to look at first. That will give me something to work on this weekend. Stay safe everyone!

- Blair

Why do none of my paragraph breaks ever show up on the published article?

Greetings everyone! My part-time, evening academy with Swift began this week in Phoenix, AZ. Day 1 We have a total of 4 applicants. Oddly enough I am the only one who already has their Commercial Permit. All the paperwork and discussions with recruiting implied you couldn't begin without obtaining a permit. We toured the terminal, observing the body shop, trailer prep and storage, a flatbed training area, washout, and the various corporate perks of a full-gym, diner, basketball courts, lounge, showers, and laundry. I would imagine truck stops and other terminals have a variety of services as well. One of the applicants has some questionable expectations about time invested and current career choices. I wonder if he looked before leaping. Day 2 All 4 of us have returned! Today is permit prep going through the AZ manual, looking up websites, and downloading apps. The goal is to have permits finished by next Monday so we can drug test. I pitched TruckingTruth.com as my primary resource (having already passed the permit) but no one in class has heard of us :P To end our day we toured new Kenworth, Freightliner, Volvo, and International tractors at the terminal. I am stunned how much money there is in tractors, trailers, and various logistics support on site Just by our academy building there are 120 trucks in overflow ready to be assigned. Conservative cost of a new truck at $120,000 x 120 tractors is more than $14 million dollars alone just in overflow. The primary instructor is very engaging and positive. He doesn’t bash other companies and continues to advocate realistic expectations for our class. An interesting perspective of evening class is we will learn to drive and back on the range at night with limited lighting available. Our instructor says this will teach us to “drive the trailer” rather than rely on reference points - time will tell! Onward and upward!

-Blair

David, There is some solid information here. During my application for Swift they did a urine and hair follicle sample. This was just 10 days ago during my physical. The academy starts Monday (tomorrow!) and they are doing a second urine and hair follicle test this week. A single test may not be the complete picture, especially when you are in pre-hire.

Woohoo! I would like to thank Brett and the contributors to this community. I passed my CDL permit first try without significant difficulty. The High Road training modules illuminated a path for success. Monday evening begins Swift training here in PHX.

Rolex, There are many members here at TT that are with Swift. This is a positive environment with realistic expectations and guidance for those willing to learn. The High Road CDL program from Brett is top notch. I have worked thorough about 1/3 and feel well prepared for my permit test next week.

Rolex, PHX is fabulous in "winter" for CDL or any outside work and training. Swift terminal is on the southwestern side of PHX so be prepared for mild traffic (nothing like LA) depending where your commute is from. Metro PHX navigation is absurdly simple, just a matter of where your house will be located. NW (Glendale, Avondale, Peoria) and SE (Chandler, Gilbert) are more expensive areas, Tempe is flooded with ASU buildings and students.